Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Babolat Pure Aero 2023

So, another update, after playing two more modified specs (total PA23 play time now is ~8 hours).

For a 5-second read: key info and takeaways in bold.

Wednesday (9/21), 30 minutes
Setup: Black Knight 1.28 @ 50 lbs, one Gamma Supreme Perforated overgrip, 5g tungsten putty in the butt cap
Strung Spec: 329.39g, 31.7cm (8pts HL), 323 swing weight, 14.6 twist weight, 167.9 recoil weight, 20.52 MGR/I
Observations: Compared to just stock with one overgrip, I thought I'd like this setup even more, as it would be closer in balance (8+ pts HL) and mass to my player sticks, but I couldn't gel with it. Serves and overheads didn't really come around that much easier, while the frame felt unnecessarily "weighty" in the hand during most rotational movements. Ground strokes felt more unguided and as a result rally balls were more unpredictable. Out of respect to my hitting partner, I chose to just bag the frame and swap to another, rather than sit there and monkey with removing the putty from the butt cap. In retrospect, my guess was there was just too much handle mass and the 323 swing weight just wasn't enough to counteract.

Today (9/24), 2 hours
Setup: Same string, no weight in butt cap, 1.5g lead @ 12 (two 1.5" strips of .5g/inch tape)
Strung Spec: 326.04g, 32.4cm (6pts HL), 328 swing weight, 14.6 twist weight, 164.4 recoil weight, 20.4 MGR/I
Results: In short, much better. In fact, probably the best setup for ground strokes I've played so far. The removal of the dragging-me-down feeling in the handle (from the 5g putty in the butt cap) coupled with the head-heavier 6pt HL balance and 328 swing weight produced an almost effortless ground-stroke and an almost-perfect amount of plow. I think upper 320's swing weight is just about the max of what I would want, as I was able to maintain aggressive wrist snap and racquet head speed, but I could tell I was inching close to a point where any more would probably be more detriment (in speed lost) than benefit, and I've gotten the message loud and clear with this frame that you want to keep all motions at top gear, in order to keep control in check.

A note on comfort thus far: strung with Black Knight 1.28 at 50 lbs string bed tension, I've noticed very little to no arm aggravation, certainly no more than I get with something like my Auxetic Prestige MP-L, which does generate a little tenderness every now and then. So that's really saying something for Babolat and the work they've done here. I really thought I'd want/need to get recoil weight up north of 170 to ensure adequate comfort, but so far (*knock on wood*), mid 160's has been enough.

Looking at the upcoming 9/30 review deadline, one thing is for sure: it's definitely staying in the bag beyond the play test. The PA23 is very close to what I would call the "sweet spot" of a tweener/player hybrid, which most manufacturers seem to focusing on recently -- mid-width beamed frames with mid-60's RAs and the right mix of stiffness-vs-flex and dampening-vs-feel. Considering my past biases, I can't believe I'm saying this, but the PA23 might even be a frame I could switch to; it's that good (with a small bit of weight at 12).
 
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@A_Instead - Yes, a little lead goes a long way on this frame. I think it has to do with how tuned it already is in stock form. It's more or less on the razor's edge in many metrics, so a slight weight change here or there has a greater propensity to alter its performance than many other frames.
 
I have 3 of these. Here are the unstrung specs:
#1 300g, 12.375" (9 Pts HL), SW 290, TW 13.66
#2 300g, 12.375" (9 Pts HL), SW 291, TW 13.67
#3 298g, 12.375" (9 Pts HL), SW 286, TW 13.13

I've only strung up Frame #1 so far with BHB7; Strung its 322g, 12.625" (7 pts HL), SW 315, TW 15.37

So pretty good QC with this tiny sample size. Twistweight is essentially a point higher than my Blade Pros and Q+5x Pros. Don't know how that compares historically, as I never had a SW1 machine before with prior frames to actually measure.
 
I've never hit with any of the previous Aero's, so I guess ignorance is bliss, but compared to the player/tweener crossovers I've used (TT100/100P, FX 500 Tour, etc.) it feels pretty well balanced. A bit of that tinny/airy/crispy Babolat-ness, but not too excessive, and a good amount of feel from the string bed.
 
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I think I was a bit hasty when I attributed my arm soreness to rock-climbing. I've hit a little bit with other racquets recently and felt fine afterwards. Plus this morning my arm felt 100% fine - I haven't gone climbing for a couple days, but then after 90 minutes of easy hitting, my forearm and wrist are a bit tender (elbow feels fine, though).
This still might not necessarily be racquet-related. I've certainly hit with some stuff racquets before and not had issues, but it's a bit suspicious. Definitely feels way stiffer than a 65 ra (while the Extreme MP I've hit with feels a lot softer than the PA, despite the 66 RA - both racquets strung the same).
 
Chezbeeno said:
Definitely feels way stiffer than a 65 ra (while the Extreme MP I've hit with feels a lot softer than the PA, despite the 66 RA - both racquets strung the same).
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And that right there illustrates how a spot/average-based RA value can only be so representative of the actual feel and flex. Case-in-point, I have multiple Head Prestiges that list at or around 65RA, but play more in the 61-62, strung, whereas the PA23 feels more like a 66-67, strung.
 
Trip said:
And that right there illustrates how a spot/average-based RA value can only be so representative of the actual feel and flex. Case-in-point, I have multiple Head Prestiges that list at or around 65RA, but play more in the 61-62, strung, whereas the PA23 feels more like a 66-67, strung.
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The problem is that people rely on the historically reported "Flex" per a Babolat RDC. That is a specific measurement, measures flex as specific locations. It doesn't necessarily correlate with "perceived stiffness" during matchplay.

Obviously its a surrogate datum, and perhaps the best we have for now. But the number only means so much.
 
So I got another 2 hours with this frame (12 hours total so far). I added 3g (2x 6" 1/4 lead tape) at 12 o clock. In my opinion, this makes the racket MUCH better. That put my swingweight at 324 per my SW1. It makes serves much more enjoyable and heavier, adds extra stability to the backhand slices, and just adds punch to all my strokes. I didn't feel the added swingweight slowed down my racketspeed. I was still able, as a lefty, to hit the "banana forehands" when needed. The stability, especially against a bigger hitter, was welcome.

Now that being said, With about 12 hours of play on this frame, I do see what others are saying about the bumper guard falling apart. Nothing major, but the outer edge of the bumper guard does seem unusually frail. See the photo:
V8QmAno.jpg

Definitely the most fragile guard on any frame I've used. I get the sense the outer edge is thin, so if there's any shear force or scrape (e.g - slicing and making court contact) it kinda just falls apart. Which is a bummer. That being said, this racket will sell extraordinarily well and extra sets will likely be readily available for a few years. I found taking a pair of flush cutters or nail clippers to make it flush again was the best solution. After all, it annoys me if I'm running my hands over my frame and catch a random rough patch.

I may add a 3g or so to the trap door, but I'm not convinced its needed at this point. The twist weight was high to begin with, so lead at 12" and maybe counterbalancing is the way to go. I don't think lead at 3/9 is needed in this frame.

But still, no arm discomfort for me. Fantastic frame. Still surprised that it's a Pure Aero. I liked it in stock form, I like it better with some weight at 12.
 
In a somewhat-related vein as @Soundbyte's post, I've noticed another issue with the head guard: the string channels are pretty shallow, just barely covering the strings in most places (currently I have Tier One Black Knight 16 1.28 in my PA23). Not a huge deal in most spots, but the string actually sits above the guard on the end-most crosses. In the pictures below, you can see a tiny bit of abrasion on the side with the higher cross and a fair amount of abrasion on the side with the lower cross:

PxhwVca.jpg
gtK1foS.jpg

The chance of this possibly causing most poly's to snap is pretty low, but for a less durable string like multi or gut, I could see this being a potential issue. At the very least, I could see string scuffing being pretty routine, especially for thicker gauges (upper 1.20's and thicker).

I'm sure this isn't the first occurrence of this issue on a racquet, but I wonder if Babolat might be compelled to make a "version 2" grommet and guard set with these areas reengineered for more depth?

What do you all think: no big deal, or worth some monitoring and possible follow-up?
 
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Soundbyte said:
So I got another 2 hours with this frame (12 hours total so far). I added 3g (2x 6" 1/4 lead tape) at 12 o clock. In my opinion, this makes the racket MUCH better. That put my swingweight at 324 per my SW1. It makes serves much more enjoyable and heavier, adds extra stability to the backhand slices, and just adds punch to all my strokes. I didn't feel the added swingweight slowed down my racketspeed. I was still able, as a lefty, to hit the "banana forehands" when needed. The stability, especially against a bigger hitter, was welcome.

Now that being said, With about 12 hours of play on this frame, I do see what others are saying about the bumper guard falling apart. Nothing major, but the outer edge of the bumper guard does seem unusually frail. See the photo:
V8QmAno.jpg

Definitely the most fragile guard on any frame I've used. I get the sense the outer edge is thin, so if there's any shear force or scrape (e.g - slicing and making court contact) it kinda just falls apart. Which is a bummer. That being said, this racket will sell extraordinarily well and extra sets will likely be readily available for a few years. I found taking a pair of flush cutters or nail clippers to make it flush again was the best solution. After all, it annoys me if I'm running my hands over my frame and catch a random rough patch.

I may add a 3g or so to the trap door, but I'm not convinced its needed at this point. The twist weight was high to begin with, so lead at 12" and maybe counterbalancing is the way to go. I don't think lead at 3/9 is needed in this frame.

But still, no arm discomfort for me. Fantastic frame. Still surprised that it's a Pure Aero. I liked it in stock form, I like it better with some weight at 12.
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Trip said:
In a somewhat-related vein as @Soundbyte's post, I've noticed another issue with the head guard: the string channels are pretty shallow, just barely covering the strings in most places (currently I have Tier One Black Knight 16 1.28 in my PA23). Not a huge deal in most spots, but the string actually sits above the guard on the end-most crosses. In the pictures below, you can see a tiny bit of abrasion on the side with the higher cross and a fair amount of abrasion on the side with the lower cross:

PxhwVca.jpg
gtK1foS.jpg

The chance of this possibly causing most poly's to snap is pretty low, but for a less durable string like multi or gut, I could see this being a potential issue. At the very least, I could see string scuffing being pretty routine, especially for thicker gauges (upper 1.20's and thicker).

I'm sure this isn't the first occurrence of this issue on a racquet, but I wonder if Babolat might be compelled to make a "version 2" grommet and guard set with these areas reengineered for more depth?

What do you all think: no big deal, or worth some monitoring and possible follow-up?
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I think this IS a big deal. This is similar to the early Pure Aeros which had a similar problem. A bit disappointing for such a nice racquet. In this case your string is your bumperguard and one good scrape and its time to restring again.
Even if you do you own, does anybody really want to do this? I am loving how it plays - the solid feel, spin generation, power, stability through most of my game - and giving serious thought to switching to this as my go to racquet. This is a design defect as far as I am concerned and not a fan of the bumperguard.
 
Kind of surprised at the bumperguard issue. The first gen Pure Aero went through the similar issue. The PSVS has armor-like bumperguard. If Babolat decides to update the bumperguard, that might be the best option. Also, thicker and heavier grommets might help with extra SW as the new PA seems to need.
 
Surprised to hear people already reporting possible arm issues. I have yet to have any. I do think the racquet allows less punishing off-center shots but maybe thats where the arm problems come from.
When a racquet is dampened outside the sweetspot you don't feel it, but it undoubtedly is still transferring vibrations or what not into your arm.

@Trip i definitely think that string issue is worth watching. Maybe it's the pic, but the scuffing looks significant, enough so that I actually think it could snap as it is compromised. Definitely on your soft gut, syngut, or multis.
 
I don't have pictures at the moment, but I have strings in 3 different places that are scuffed because of the grommets. They really need to fix the head guard. Some extra material wouldn't be a bad thing to bump up the swing weight a tiny bit anyways haha
 
I find it kind of unreal that through all the testing, all the design iterations, etc. that Babolat wouldn't have picked up on this and addressed it before the racquet made it to production... mind-boggling, really.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see the exact same issue on the 2023 Pure Aero 98 (formerly Pure Aero VS), as I would presume it shares the exact same head guard design.... brutal.
 
Trip said:
I find it kind of unreal that through all the testing, all the design iterations, etc. that Babolat wouldn't have picked up on this and addressed it before the racquet made it to production... mind-boggling, really.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see the exact same issue on the 2023 Pure Aero 98 (formerly Pure Aero VS), as I would presume it shares the exact same head guard design.... brutal.
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It is unbelievable really. I just took a look at mine and sure enough - the SAME problem that had plagued the earlier Pure Aeros. As you can see, the bumperguard is still relatively unscuffed. Obviously BECAUSE my strings are protecting it!
There are several points of potential contact and from a side angle you see the string bump up over the guard. Now that I think about - this was THE reason I didn't keep an earlier PA. This was never a problem on my APD 2013, so I know Babolat knows how to make a good bumper guard - they have just decided not to. Such a shame because they did such a good job IMO on everything else. Especially since this is such minor thing to correct too! This problem will only be exacerbated as the bumper guard wears leaving little or no protection quickly. Maybe Babolat should include a roll of their head tape with each racquet! I hope they fix it !!

bumperguard.jpg
 
I still have some hitting scheduled for the next couple days, but no time for writing, so I'm gonna give the review a go...
Part 1:
String and tension used for test: Head Lynx Tour Orange 17g @ 54lbs

Tennis experience/background: Former college player/current teaching pro

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): aggressive all-courter/counterpuncher (depending on opponent). Right hander with one-handed backhand. Hit a lot of topspin on both sides, and a lot of slicing off the bh wing.

Current racquet/string setups: Head G360+ Radical MP w/ Lynx Tour Orange 17g @56lbs

How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 50 hours total on court (including lessons/clinics/private hitting sessions), but probably closer to 30 of real hitting.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes:
The weight distribution of the PA (or at least of my PA) made for a bit of an odd relationship with the racquet on some different shots, forehand groundstrokes being one of those. If I put in NO effort and hit the ball flat, I tended to launch the ball. No surprise here - it’s a power and spin racquet, after all. Where I found the racquet really excelled was on mid-intensity topspin forehands (think about a 60-70% pace rally ball). I found I could hit deep, topspin neutral balls on the forehand side really easily, and they tended to be a bit more “offensive” than my average neutral ball with a different racquet. Where the weight distribution got a little weird was when I really tried to go big on forehands. The racquet just felt like it came around through contact a bit sluggishly, so I ended up not hitting as much topspin as I needed to control more aggressive cuts. The weight ended up causing similar problems if I had to hit a defensive slice backhand - it was tough to really knife the ball, since the tip of the racquet didn’t come around through the ball as cleanly as I would have liked.
I enjoyed hitting my backhand quite a bit with the racquet - at times I don’t have a ton of confidence to hit over my backhand, since it can be tough to get depth and consistency, but, once again, a deep, topspin, neutral ball was really easy to hit. Outside of volleying, topspin backhands were probably my favorite shot to hit - and I felt somewhat more comfortable attacking backhands than forehands, probably because I always hit with a lot of spin and really safe margins, no matter how much I attack a backhand.
It should be noted that despite the weird weight issues, the racquet never felt unstable, except on shots with garbage contact.

-Serves:
Serves were a mixed bag, similar to groundstrokes. Hitting 60-70% serves, both flat and with spin, felt great. If I really tried to crank my serves, though, it just felt like the weight of the racquet wasn’t doing anything for me. It felt like I couldn’t generate optimal racquet-head-speed. It was great for serving against some lower-level players, because I barely had to put in any effort to get the desired result. In general, second serves felt a bit better than first serves, because I typically hit a high-margin kick-serve for my second serve. It was easy to get a lot of spin and control the ball…trying to really “go for it” on the kick-serve didn’t feel super rewarding, though. I think, again, because of the diminishing returns on more racquet-head-speed-oriented shots that I was getting.

-Volleys:
Volleys were great. Despite the lack of weight in the tip of the racquet, the stability that the racquet had at contact was outstanding. This honestly made it a great racquet for volleying - it was super easy to maneuver at net, and once you got it into position, it was stable and crisp at the net. Power and control were both easy to manage, and this has honestly been one of my favorite volleying racquets I’ve hit with. Touch shots never felt great, though, and that remained the case on drop volleys. It was possible to hit point-ending drop-volleys, but never any that really wowed me.

-Serve returns:
In my experience a lot of what makes a racquet great for volleying, can also make a racquet good for returning, and that certainly was the case here. The combination of easy power, maneuverability, and stability, made returns super easy to hit. At times they could be tough to control, especially if I really attacked a return, or if I tried to chip a backhand return instead of driving it. All in all, though, it was great to hit returns with. I almost never use a full, fast swing to return, so the weight issues were once again not a concern. It was easy to take advantage of the free power and spin and hit a deep, heavy forehand return to the middle of the opposing baseline, while backhand returns felt super stable when I blocked them back.
 
Part 2:

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control- Unsurprisingly, this racquet has tons of power. Control, at times, was lacking. I had it strung with a decently stiff poly at 54lbs, and I am a fairly accomplished player, and I still had trouble with the ball sailing on me on groundstrokes. I think players with slower swings might be fine, but if for faster, more modern swings, I think it probably needs one of two things - 1. More weight at the tip of the racquet - this will allow athletic players with good form to swing a bit quicker, and get more spin as a result 2. A more open string pattern. Obviously only one of these issues can be fixed (though you could try a super thin gauge string, for more spin). Having hit with the new Extreme MP a little bit, I think Head nailed the more closed string pattern, while Babolat went a little too closed.

Top Spin/Slice- It was easy to get a bit of a deeper, loopier topspin, on both groundstrokes, but I did find it a bit difficult to get enough topspin to control much harder, more aggressive cuts at the ball. I think this is a weight issue, since my Radical’s string pattern is very similar to the PA in terms of density .With my Radical I can swing with enough speed that I can take aggressive cuts at the ball that travel much quicker through the air, before dropping aggressively inside the lines. Hitting more offensive slices felt great - I could get the ball super low and moving through the court quickly. Hitting a slice approach off of a short, low, ball, was one of my favorite shots to hit. Defensive slices tended to float, but they also usually at least landed deep, so it could have been worse.

Comfort- I certainly wouldn’t describe this PA as “comfortable,” but it could have been worse. I hit a lot, with no issues whatsoever…until I had a bit of shoulder/forearm soreness caused by something else. At that point, the stiffness of the PA definitely seemed to make things a bit worse. I hit with my Radical after that (a very middle-of-the-road racquet in terms of comfort) and felt a lot better. Obviously I’m using a stiff poly at a decently high tension, so there are ways to make it more comfortable, but the comfort could certainly be better. It’s been a minute since the PD ’21 playtest that I was on, but I don’t remember any discomfort or complaints in the comfort department.

Feel- I can’t say that I loved the feel - the PA felt pretty stiff and hollow - very much the old stereotype of a lot of Babolats. It certainly could have been worse, but even with the flax inserts “softening” contact, it didn’t feel like the racquet flexed at contact even remotely. I liked the somewhat muted feel of the PD, and you definitely don’t get as much of that with the PA - many players will prefer that, I’m sure.
Since the racquet didn’t flex at all, it was difficult to hit shots where you need to really feel the ball on the strings - I don’t have particularly good hands, but drop shots felt even worse than they normally do - I hit one or two great drop shots, but they didn’t really feel any different than the bad ones.

Maneuverability- As mentioned above, maneuverability is a high point for this racquet - whatever issues I had with the weight of the racquet, I was able to react quickly and get the racquet in the right spot. Reacting quickly at the net and when returning was super easy, and hitting super low balls (or shots on the run) tended to be super easy because I could maneuver the racquet really easily just using my wrist.

Stability- Again - a high point for this racquet. I didn’t hit against a ton of heavy hitters, but the heavier hitters I did play against, I felt comfortable hanging with. I swing quickly, and have relatively good timing, so I very rarely feel like I get “pushed around” by big hitters. Stability at the net and on returns was fantastic.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
The combination of solid volleying and returning, and how easy it was to hit less-than-100%-intensity topspin groundstrokes, make this racquet almost feel like it was designed for playing doubles. I felt comfortable from everywhere on the court playing a doubles match, and that isn’t always the case.
My biggest complaints were the comfort/feel, the weight distribution, and the grommet/head guard issue that many of us have been talking about here. The racquet just feels way stiffer than the advertised RA, and, honestly, stiffer than it needs to. I don’t think it needs as much power as it has, especially if it had a slightly higher swing weight. A more flexible version of this racquet with an extra 5 points in swing weight would be an absolute monster, in my estimation. That being said, the really high power level made it easy to try less, and still get positive results in a rally. I could grind with deep topspin groundstrokes all day, with great results. This racquet would likely be fantastic for clay courts.
I loved being on this playtest (thank you Tennis Warehouse!) - I always love hitting with new racquets, and I’ve had a hunch that the PA would probably complement my game fairly well. That was…somewhat true? As much as I liked it, I will definitely not be making a switch. Despite the outstanding stability and maneuverability, it just feels a bit too (weirdly) sluggish, and far too stiff for my liking.
 
Chezbeeno said:
Part 2:

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control- Unsurprisingly, this racquet has tons of power. Control, at times, was lacking. I had it strung with a decently stiff poly at 54lbs, and I am a fairly accomplished player, and I still had trouble with the ball sailing on me on groundstrokes. I think players with slower swings might be fine, but if for faster, more modern swings, I think it probably needs one of two things - 1. More weight at the tip of the racquet - this will allow athletic players with good form to swing a bit quicker, and get more spin as a result 2. A more open string pattern. Obviously only one of these issues can be fixed (though you could try a super thin gauge string, for more spin). Having hit with the new Extreme MP a little bit, I think Head nailed the more closed string pattern, while Babolat went a little too closed.

Top Spin/Slice- It was easy to get a bit of a deeper, loopier topspin, on both groundstrokes, but I did find it a bit difficult to get enough topspin to control much harder, more aggressive cuts at the ball. I think this is a weight issue, since my Radical’s string pattern is very similar to the PA in terms of density .With my Radical I can swing with enough speed that I can take aggressive cuts at the ball that travel much quicker through the air, before dropping aggressively inside the lines. Hitting more offensive slices felt great - I could get the ball super low and moving through the court quickly. Hitting a slice approach off of a short, low, ball, was one of my favorite shots to hit. Defensive slices tended to float, but they also usually at least landed deep, so it could have been worse.

Comfort- I certainly wouldn’t describe this PA as “comfortable,” but it could have been worse. I hit a lot, with no issues whatsoever…until I had a bit of shoulder/forearm soreness caused by something else. At that point, the stiffness of the PA definitely seemed to make things a bit worse. I hit with my Radical after that (a very middle-of-the-road racquet in terms of comfort) and felt a lot better. Obviously I’m using a stiff poly at a decently high tension, so there are ways to make it more comfortable, but the comfort could certainly be better. It’s been a minute since the PD ’21 playtest that I was on, but I don’t remember any discomfort or complaints in the comfort department.

Feel- I can’t say that I loved the feel - the PA felt pretty stiff and hollow - very much the old stereotype of a lot of Babolats. It certainly could have been worse, but even with the flax inserts “softening” contact, it didn’t feel like the racquet flexed at contact even remotely. I liked the somewhat muted feel of the PD, and you definitely don’t get as much of that with the PA - many players will prefer that, I’m sure.
Since the racquet didn’t flex at all, it was difficult to hit shots where you need to really feel the ball on the strings - I don’t have particularly good hands, but drop shots felt even worse than they normally do - I hit one or two great drop shots, but they didn’t really feel any different than the bad ones.

Maneuverability- As mentioned above, maneuverability is a high point for this racquet - whatever issues I had with the weight of the racquet, I was able to react quickly and get the racquet in the right spot. Reacting quickly at the net and when returning was super easy, and hitting super low balls (or shots on the run) tended to be super easy because I could maneuver the racquet really easily just using my wrist.

Stability- Again - a high point for this racquet. I didn’t hit against a ton of heavy hitters, but the heavier hitters I did play against, I felt comfortable hanging with. I swing quickly, and have relatively good timing, so I very rarely feel like I get “pushed around” by big hitters. Stability at the net and on returns was fantastic.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
The combination of solid volleying and returning, and how easy it was to hit less-than-100%-intensity topspin groundstrokes, make this racquet almost feel like it was designed for playing doubles. I felt comfortable from everywhere on the court playing a doubles match, and that isn’t always the case.
My biggest complaints were the comfort/feel, the weight distribution, and the grommet/head guard issue that many of us have been talking about here. The racquet just feels way stiffer than the advertised RA, and, honestly, stiffer than it needs to. I don’t think it needs as much power as it has, especially if it had a slightly higher swing weight. A more flexible version of this racquet with an extra 5 points in swing weight would be an absolute monster, in my estimation. That being said, the really high power level made it easy to try less, and still get positive results in a rally. I could grind with deep topspin groundstrokes all day, with great results. This racquet would likely be fantastic for clay courts.
I loved being on this playtest (thank you Tennis Warehouse!) - I always love hitting with new racquets, and I’ve had a hunch that the PA would probably complement my game fairly well. That was…somewhat true? As much as I liked it, I will definitely not be making a switch. Despite the outstanding stability and maneuverability, it just feels a bit too (weirdly) sluggish, and far too stiff for my liking.
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Control is lacking can’t wait for the pure drive 98 and the aero 98 .
 
Oh, that power. And, Oh, my arm.

String and tension used for test: Technifibre Razor Code 18g at 50 lbs

Tennis experience/background: USTA 4.5 club player

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Baseliner unless someone tries to drop shot me.

Current racquet/string setups: 2022 Yonex EZONE 98 with PolyTour Fire 1.20mm at 45 lbs

How many hours did you play with the racquet? ~30 hours


-Groundstrokes: As expected, this gave me more power and depth on my groundstrokes. That’s something I was looking for in my next racquet. I don’t have the confidence to hit small targets with this racquet, but I generate enough pace that I don’t necessarily need to. I do feel confident I can use this to hit through my opponents.

-Serves: I like to occasionally kick a first serve and I can kick the ball a bit higher with the Aero. When I need to flatten the ball, I feel good doing so, but I miss some mass in the hoop. There’s a lack of stability that I miss compared to my EZ98.

-Volleys: I wish this helped me with more solid volleys - but it flopped around in my hand against the big hitters. I often feel like I’m lucky to shank the ball back over the net. Sometimes I’ll catch the volley just right for a winner, but most of the time I’m blocking and hoping that ball doesn’t sail. I don’t dare try to "touch" with this racquet, I just don’t feel confident at all with it at the net when I have to gently graze the back of the ball. But if I have to swinging-volley, I'm pretty confident with my strokes that spin will bring the ball down by the baseline.

-Serve returns: Returning is a big part of my game and it was rather fun to return with this. Sometimes I just close my eyes and swing for the fences and the ball drops in. I had less control on topspin lob returns (a signature of my game) than with my EZ98 - but at least when they’re off, they’re long and not short for the opponent to smash.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control- Power, yes. Control, not so much. Early on in the playtest, I was rallying with a buddy. We played a game by trying to hit a ball can on the opponent’s side of the court (hard game, but fun). Only when I switched back to my EZ98 did I see how terrible my aim was with the Aero. Again, I had to go for big targets. Little adjustments on my end land way off target to the other side of the court.

Top Spin/Slice- I really benefited from the topspin. When I rally cranked the ball, the racquet did the work and balls were bouncing higher. Did I achieve Nadal spin? No. But it was relatively more than normally generate.

Comfort- On the first hitting session, I was completely blown away by how comfortable I perceived the racquet to be. I went into this expecting a harsh, metallic ping-y frame. It wasn’t… but my arm and wrist are unhappy with me nowadays at the end of the playtest. On some days, I feel fine. On other days, I feel broken. Is it 100% the racquet, no. But the racquet aggravates my poor joints more than my EZ98 ever did.

Feel- I can actually feel what I’m doing with the stringbed and where the balls are hitting. There’s no sharp contrast between the sweet spot and the strings close to the frame - but the feedback is different enough. The most enhanced part of my game other than the groundies are the “droppies.” It’s probably the angle off the racquet mostly, but I get some good drop shots from this racquet that I can’t with a 98.

Maneuverability- For how bulky the throat is, I was surprised it swung swiftly and confidently. It never felt like moving a thick beam racquet through the air - I get that feeling with the DR100. So I’m pleasantly surprised at how I didn’t think about the swing of this racquet that much. The lightness contributes to

Stability- Inherent in any 300g racquet is instability. But the aero does do a decent job hiding its flaw. Will a framed shot twist the racquet? Yeah. Can I stop a heavy ball when I’m at the net? Not easily. But I do feel like the stability is as expected. I need more stability for my game.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

Note: I played exclusively with this racquet since I received it except for Day 1 when I tried it side by side with my EZONE 98. And tonight when I reintroduced myself to my old faithful.

I started off really positive in this play test. From the first hit, I was saying “Wow, how soft, what great feel!” As the playtest went on, I came back to reality. I felt how stiff the racquet is - how taxing it is on my arm and wrist. My groundstrokes were deep and penetrating, my kick serves were troublesome for the opponents. But most mornings after, I’d feel sore. On days when I didn’t, I’d be surprised.

There are trade offs for going lighter and I was ready to go to the EZ100 when I got this playtest. The Pure Aero does not meet my comfort-needs. I’m willing to give up control and stability for more pace and depth. But I’m not sacrificing my arm. Still, this was a fun playtest. I enjoyed all the shots that were enhanced by the Pure Aero and all the crazy amounts of power I could tame with spin. Ultimately, I am looking forward to finding the right 100 racquet for my game (and arm).

So the Pure Aero not for me. But I think this racquet would be a great update to those already using a Pure Aero or Pure Drive. It’s definitely softer and more muted than the last generation. And using Troy’s term, this racquet has good “slapability.”

Thanks to TW and Babolat for this playtest opportunity.

Now I can see how my thoughts compare with everyone else’s!
 
Babolat Pure Aero 23 - The Playtest Pt 1
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String and Tension used for Test:
Solinco Hyper-G 17 mains @ 46, Nano Vendetta 17 crosses @ 48

Tennis Experience / Background:
Been playing since I was 8, but more seriously in the last 6 years. Since coming back I realized how much tennis had changed; racquets, strings, grips, technique, gear it seemed like a whole new game. Realizing that, I began my tennis journey (still in progress) becoming a sort of tennis “otaku” / tennis nerd. I’ve changed grips, racquets, strings, techniques and am constantly experimenting with racquets, customization and the fine art of stringing for myself and students.

My Playing Style:
Eastern Forehand, Two-handed Backhand. Enjoy both singles and doubles. Level: 4.5
I play an all-court game, adapting to what works or is needed. I’m a bit of a counter-puncher, who has been known to serve & volley. Generally patient and like to use the whole court. I like to hit a variety of shots, to see what response I get, rather than just grinding away at the baseline. Volleys / net play and return of serve are my strengths. Always looking for an opportunity to come forward, and like to take balls early or out of the air. Love hitting down the line - it’s my tennis vice.

Current Racquet / String setups:
Racquets: Babolat Pure Strike 98 16x19, Wilson Blade 104 18x19. I like both.
Strings: Generally, poly/poly hybrid, shaped poly mains and smooth round poly crosses. Tensions: mid to upper 40s.
  • Babolat Pure Strike 98 16x19 with Hyper-G 17 @ 45#, Nano Vendetta 17 @ 48#, (weighted to 11.6 oz) and;
  • Wilson Blade 104 18x19 with Hyper-G 17 @ 46#, Red Devil 17 @ 49# (27.5” weighted to 11.5 oz)
Play Test Specs & Setup Babolat Pure Aero 23 (PA 23). Tested Stock
Unstrung: 10.8 oz. / 300 gr.​
Strung: W/ overgrip, dampener and band: 11.5 oz. / 326 gr.​
Setup: Hyper-G 17 @ 46#, Nano Vendetta 17 @ 48#​

Hours Played: Approximately 18-20 hours, consisting of singles, doubles and practice drills.

Pure Aero 23 Summary: Overall – 8.9
Power 9.3, Serves 9.3, Control 8.3, Groundstrokes 8.9, Maneuverability 8.5, Returns (ROS) 9.3, Stability 9.3, Slice 9.0, Comfort 8.2, Topspin 9.4, Touch/Feel 8.2, Volleys 9.1

Play Test Impressions / Summary:
I LOVE playing with this racquet. Thanks TW !! To be honest, I was not expecting this. Sure, I’ve played with and liked many Babolat racquets, even the APD 2013 and APD Plus, but I honestly thought I was over the hype of sexy spin and power. Wrong. I could tell from the first time I hit it, there was something special about the PA 23. Spin, stability and power make this racquet fun. Sure there have been growing pains – I am still not completely used to the wider beam and still cautious about its stiffness (even though the RA is down from previous versions). I don’t feel it has the touch or maneuverability of my Pure Strike or Blade, but it strengths far outweigh its shortcomings - while still managing to be relatively maneuverable, controlled and comfortable.

Would I recommend this to a friend? – Yes!
Will I switch? - I am considering it.
Performance wise I can say there is nothing for me to consider – I would in a heartbeat. However, performance alone is not the only thing to consider in a racquet. There are 2 things that have me being cautious:​
1) long-term comfort; and​
2) a silly bumperguard design flaw that exposes strings to premature wear.​

So there you have it in a nutshell. Best racquet I have played with recently, but can I keep playing with and do I want to deal with the inconvenience / time / expense of a poorly designed bumperguard!
 
Babolat Pure Aero 23 - The Playtest Pt 2

Racquet Performance - Strokes
Groundstrokes: Loved this Racquet off both wings. Solid. Spin, stability and power mixed gave me a bit more pace and a surprising amount of control. Depth was easier to control on my forehand, but my 2HBH benefitted most from the easy spin & power. The stability let me redirect shots either cross-court, DTL or vary height / depth for lobs or to push opponents back. When needed the shots coming off of this can be sudden, catching players flat-footed. As a 100” spin-oriented racquet it is not laser precise as a Pure Strike, Pure Strike VS or others, but the liveliness and power benefits from hitting bigger to bigger targets with more margin. In this regard the PA 23 delivers. Not a racquet to get cute with. The ball flight / trajectory is a bit higher than most and it is an art dialing in the influence of spin-power-stability on depth / control. I really like it.

Serves: Excellent! Serving with this racquet inspired confidence. I was able to serve with pace, with spin and to hit flatter (mild spin) serves. I was surprised by how accurate it was and loved how the spin let you always bring the ball back into the box. The increase in spin over my regular racquet allowed (forced) me to change where I aimed, knowing the ball would move. This made serving with the Pure Aero a lot of fun. Part of that fun was that my serves were more effective, a bit more pace, a bit more spin and movement. It gave my serve a touch wider range and this pressure on returners to cover more, which created some openings. Kick serves definitely had more movement and kick and slices tailed away and into returners on body serves.

Volleys: Excellent. Thanks to stability, pace and control. After I got the range I kept seeing the benefits with very little downside from mid-court to the net. Getting used to the wider beam (for me) was a downside and have hit the frame a bit more than usual. As I get more accustomed to it, I am reaping the rewards of the pace / stability off the stringbed. Same applies to shots taken out of the air on half-volleys and approaches. Nice and decisive.

Serve returns: Great! Stable, consistent, powerful, controlled and generating spin. Ability to redirect serves, big serves, with enough pace to put me in good position. With a bit of time I could attack and drive serves cross-court or DTL or when handcuffed punch block and still give myself a chance. The stability and ability to absorb pace let me try something that is usually crazy, coming in 2-3 feet inside the service line. Even against couple big servers it was surprisingly effective. I’m still laughing about this. Did I mention I liked ROS with this one? Being a bit of a counter-puncher big serves to a degree bring out big returns driving it deep usually leads to good things!

Racquet Performance - Attributes
Power: Pure Aero = power which you control through mastering the spin it generates and the Pure Aero 23 has plenty of both. I was drawn to the extra pace the PA 23 provides and it changed the way I played. I noticed I was being more aggressive when I had the opportunity because the racquet let me take better advantage of openings. Whereas I might otherwise hit a neutral rally ball or set up shot - the PA 23 incentivized me to go for more. On shots that sometimes put me on the defensive it gave me the ability to defend and get back to neutral or even better. That is a big deal. At the net I could create harder, more penetrating shots and better angles.

Control: If you are a control freak, and I mean needing pinpoint accuracy, there are better racquets for you. The control is good - just not a control oriented racquet. The tighter string pattern of the PA 23 helps and so does the stability. That is not what a PA is about; This racquet is a hammer not a scalpel, meant to be aimed at bigger targets. I didn't have a problem with control, there was more than enough, but touch shots were a weak point for me. I'd say that was the one area where I don't feel completely comfortable with it yet. Not enough reps. I definitely have a greater sense of touch / finesse with my Pure Strike. I've also been playing with it longer.

Top Spin: You expect spin from a Pure Aero - and this racquet does not disappoint. Great spin and easy to access. A noticeable step up in spin from the Pure Strike 98 16 x19, Pure Strike VS and perhaps a bit more than the venerable APD I brought out for comparison. The spin is great to have but you do really have to learn how to utilize it control it. Usually, spin adds something; it brings the ball back in, moves it or creates a bounce that makes balls jump off the court, but spin can make shots land short, or slices float if you are not careful or accustomed to controlling it. For me, I loved it, especially on serves, groundstrokes, slices and lobs. Occasionally, slices moved/floated too much (out) or balls landed short but as I got used this part after a couple times out. Put it this way, I'd much rather have that spin potential than not! The topspin - that is really the essence of the Babolat Pure Aero ( or Aero Pro Drive) experience.

Slices: I really like hitting several types of slices with the Pure Aero. I could drive it low and let the spin bring it up and over the net and watch as the movement created some uncertainty across the net. Knifing it low with a shallow bounce also created problems on the other side of the net. For me it was stable and consistent, but since the beam is a good amount wider (27mm) I did find I was hitting the frame more , especially at the beginning. After I had a few hours with it though that wasn’t so much of a problem anymore. It was actually kind of fun.

Comfort: For an APD / Pure Aero it is comfortable. Definitely, not a comfort oriented racquet, but I was surprised how comfortable it has been. I am using poly strung at a mid tension 46/48 lbs. so if you needed more comfort your could get it via other string choices: gut, multi or synthetic gut or dropping tension or string gauge. Personally, I want the poly for spin and to control this powerful racquet and my set up has worked well for me. It think the slightly lower RA (@ 65 ) and Babolat's new NF² contribute somewhat to this, BUT don't kid yourself - this is a Pure Aero and it is stiff racquet on the continuum of racquets.

Feel: Surprisingly good. Not other-worldly like a box framed Pro Staff, Prestiege or Pure Strike VS – but nice. I look at this in 2 parts, the feel on typical groundstrokes etc. and the feel on touch / finesse shots around the net. Feel from the baseline – great. It really shines from the baseline, serving, return of serves half-volleys and on volleys. Feel on touch / finesse shots - just okay. On shots touch shots around the net, I did not feel connected these were not my strong suit with this racquet. It got better as I grew more accustomed to it, but still a work in progress.

Maneuverability: Not bad. I like maneuverable racquets and while the PA 23 is not quite as easy as my Pure Strike 98, it isn't a liability either. On groundstrokes I had no issues. Keep in mind that I played this strictly in stock form and I imagine with a little fine tuning I could get a tad more power and maneuverability which would make this racquet really stand out. It was generally on the quick reflex volleys that I felt a touch slow getting into the hitting zone and noticed the thicker beam (compared to my Pure Strike) as the ball clanked off the frame. That cleared up for the most part in no time, but I did still feel just a bit slower overall.

Stability: A definite Strength. The stability of this racquet made groundstrokes, volleys, half-volleys, ROS, overheads, and serves solid and consistent. The PA 23 gave me confidence in my shots and confidence to move forward because it was rock solid on volleys & half-volleys. In fact, after I noticed this I even tried coming way in on my ROS (a little less than half-way to the service line). Normally, I'm several feet behind the baseline, but I pick up serve after serve against a very good server. It seems this racquet rewards the brave.

General Reaction/ Comments on Overall Performance
I am having so much fun with the PA 23. I mostly play for fun and I have more fun when I am playing well. The easy power and spin open up more the court and the game, but what I really like is the stability. That gives me a good solid feel on my shots. It actually plays better when I swing a bit harder. That always puts a smile on my face. This month I committed to only using the PA 23 (except for a few minutes of others for comparison) and I am glad I did. My hitting partners might not be as happy, because they have been on the receiving end - seeing the ball move more, dip more and come at them with more pace. They have all noticed. Don't get me wrong, I am no Alcaraz by any means, but it has put a little extra zip in my game.

I was not really looking for a new racquet, but may have just found one. I like it enough that I am strongly considering making the switch, but need to see how I feel a bit longer term with the PA 23. Is it too stiff for me? I don't know yet, but so far so good. Will the bumperguard issue get resolved? I hope so, but can't imagine that happening anytime soon. Is the Plus version of this available yet? I do like playing with extended length racquets, so that might have to be considered too.

Going forward I will experiment by dropping the tension maybe 2-3 lbs, adding a bit of lead to the hoop and installing a weighted trap door, to see if I can take the power / feel and maneuverability up even further. All in all a great racquet for me and I am sure so many others. Thanks Babolat and TW for making this happen.
 
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String and tension used for test: Rpm Blast at 48 lbs and Solinco Hyper G soft at 48.

Tennis experience/background: I'm a 60 year old 4.5 player so I've been playing for a long time. Nationally ranked in the top 10 in 55's singles last year.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): In singles I'm definitely a counter puncher/grinder with a 2HB and eastern forehand. I volley well enough but I prefer to stay on the baseline. In doubles I'm 100% serve and volley and my return is my strongest shot.

Current racquet/string setups: 2016 Pure Aero strung with Hyper G soft at 48 and more recently 2021 Pure Drive with the same setup.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approximately 25-30 hours, including four doubles matches and one singles match.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

-Groundstrokes: I enjoyed this racket off the ground, forehands were very controlled with a good amount of spin and clearance and contrary to some reviews I've seen I actually preferred the backhand side. I was initially disappointed that there was less power with this racket than with the PA 2016 and the PD 2021 but was really impressed with the amount of control this racket has. As some have noted it feels a bit better with a little more weight, so even and over grip and a vibration dampener makes a difference. My favorite shot with this racket was the backhand slice, very controlled and it bites nicely.

-Serves: Kick and slice serves are fantastic with this racket. Flat serves take a little time to dial in, but certainly adequate power, just a bit less than the older PA or the current PD. Again control is the standout feature of this frame so you can really hit the corners when necessary. My favorite play with this racket is to kick it out wide and come in to volley into the open court.

-Volleys: I can volley very well with this racket, it's a bit more maneuverable than the rackets I have been using so it excels in quick exchanges at the net. The forehand side in particular, I was really able to get the racket into position early and put away angle volleys. On the backhand side it's great for slice volleys and you just have to make contact out in front to produce a solid shot. Touch volleys were a bit more of a challenge but when you find the sweet spot you can hit some nice drop and angled volleys.

-Serve returns: Good control on service returns. I favor my PA 2016 for really blasting returns cross court off flat serves, but this current model definitely gives me a bit more directional control which is nice. I was able to direct returns up the line nicely when I had to time to set up.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)
Power/Control- For me, this is definitely more of a control racket than a power racket. Younger advanced players will find that there is plenty of power however, but it's not at the Pure Drive level for sure. If you are more of a control player you'll like that way this one feels. It's funny to see other reviews that talk about how powerful this racket is, but I have to remind myself that I have been using two really powerful frames in the Pure Drive and the older Pure Aero. I can say that when I catch a ball in my preferred hitting zone (below the waist for me) I can really inject some nice pace.

Top Spin/Slice- Great spin with this racket. There is a bit less topspin that previous models but you can still get plenty of top with this new Pure Aero. I never really paid much attention to string patterns but I can see how the tighter pattern in this model makes the racket play differently. Still I was able to hit my two handed backhand with plenty of net clearance and you can see the ball take off when it lands if you hit it cleanly. Slice is excellent, especially off the backhand side, very controlled with some nice bite. I lent my racket to a younger guy I play with and he described this racket as a slice machine.

Comfort- This is the most comfortable racket I've used recently. I generally don't have any arm issues, with the exception of a period of time when I was using Tour Bite string in the 50's a few years back. Since that time I changed strings and lowered tension. I can say this racket felt comfortable with RPM Blast at 48 and Hyper G at 48, no issues whatsoever.

Feel- This one is a bit muted compared to other Babolats in my opinion. I do agree that the sweet spot is more defined with this model that past versions. I found touch shots to be very effective when I found the sweet spot, but when I was off the results weren't as good. There's good feedback with this racket when you miss the sweet spot, you'll know it.

Maneuverability- One of the standout features of this version. Maneuverability is excellent, particularly at the net. Players with fast swing speeds will enjoy the way this racket moves though the air and generates spin. I like the way I was able to get this racket into position during doubles matches with all four players at the net.

Stability- No issue with stability to speak off, one shot that felt a little off for me was high backhand volleys/backhand overheads, but for all other shots I had no issues with stability at all, even against big hitters.

General reaction/comments on overall performance: I can definitely switch to this frame from my Pure Aero 2016. The slight decrease in power and spin is offset by the increased control and the fantastic maneuverability. My favorite shot to hit with this one is the slice backhand and kick serves are also very effective. I do like the cosmetics and the glossy finish as well. As a separate comment from my review, I would say that adding a leather grip, an over grip, dampener and a 2g of lead tape really improved everything about this racket. Increase in power without effecting the control and maneuverability much at all.

Thank you TW and Babolat.
 
String Set Up: Solinco Tour Bite 16 Mains/Solinco Syn Gut Crosses: 51/56

Tennis Experience: 4.5/5.0 Tournament Player - Have played tennis for 45+ years

Playing Style: All court game

Current Racquet: Depends on the day - Wilson Pro Staff 97 v13/Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v12 - Wilson Natural Gut 16g mains and Luxilon ALU Power 125 crosses

Hours played with Racquet: 16 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

Groundstrokes:
The new Pure Aero provides the classic super solid feel we’ve all come to expect from Babolat. The new frame has a very player friendly sweet spot which creates ample spin and power. I immediately noticed a few key differences in the 2023 vs. the 2019: 1) The new frame has NF-Tech which is an all-new dampening system Babolat created – this was intended to “dampen” the feel on the racquet. My initial comment after hitting for 10 minutes was the frame felt more “muted” 2) The 2023 version has a denser string pattern which does deliver more and easier top-spin. I had noticeably more control on the slice backhand, but less explosive power than the previous generation frame. I thought my groundstrokes tended to land more shallow inside the court, but I could swing out with more control. I like to attack with my inside-out forehand as much as possible and this frame allowed me to keep more balls inside the lines. The last subtle difference I noticed was this frame had a little more “flex” to it. As it turns out the stiffness rating is 5 points lower on the new 2023. I read that Babolat wanted this frame to be a less like the Pure Drive and a little more like the classic Pure Aero with an emphasis on SPIN. I think Babolat certainly accomplished their goal.

Serves:
The New Pure Aero felt great on serves. It provided a nice blend of Pop + Control on my first serve. I noticed a lot more action on my Kick 2nd Serve …the ball really came up off the court with the added spin generation. Being able to keep 2nd serves deep in the box with a lot of action is one of the areas where this new frame really stood out vs. the previous generation. I also felt like I could hit effective slice serves out wide. The new 2023 Pure Aero offers more control, but less explosive power on first serves.

Volleys:
First thing that stands out on Volleys is just how solid and stable everything feels. I felt like I could stick sitter volleys with depth and pace, while also being able to play ½ volleys and drop volleys easily. The racquet is very maneuverable at 10.6 ounces. The differences between this version and the previous version are much more noticeable at the baseline than the net in my opinion.

Serve Returns:
Once again – everything felt very solid and confident. I like attacking 2nd serve returns and I felt like I could really pick my spots going after balls with aggression. The denser string pattern also gave me more control on more defensive slice returns, with balls that stayed lower vs. floating which has been a struggle for me with the previous generation.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum):

Power/Control:
The overall power for the new 2023 Babolat Pure Aero is quite good but definitely more tame than previous versions as others have noted. The control is increased as stated earlier with the tighter string bed as the racquet has more precision to it beyond an outright power framethat previous versions had. It had some cues to the control of the Pure Strike but more powerful.

Top Spin/Slice:
Babolat frames are always very spin friendly but definitely require heavy spin to harness the power. The topspin was better than most frames but this frame really shined in the slice department. This frame reacts well with full poly and poly hybrids.

Comfort:
The lower RA is immediately evident. The muted feel aids to the comfort but you sacrifice the pop and raw power of other iterations of this racquet. The confort also enhances the next category of feel.

Feel:
This is always a very subjective topic. It is our immediate feedback we get when making contact with the ball. The feel of the new Pure Aero was much less explosive or trampoline like which i prefer.

Maneuverability:
I prefer thinner beams as a general rule, The mould appears to be the same and I did not feel much of a change in maneuverability. Balance can be a factor but the balance of this frame in stock form was much to my liking.

Stability:
Off center hits were very good in the terms of minimal twisting. I think The Pure Aero and Pure Drive are very stable frames through their beam width and stiffness. The sweetspot on this racquet is very powerful and can help to produce dramatic shots.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
All in all – the New 2023 Pure Aero is a really solid racquet. The glossy paint job looks terrific (as do the new bags and accompanying items). I think this racquet will do very well with 3.5-4.0 level players. Higher level players who need more depth and pace will likely be drawn to the 2019 version. This new frame is definitely worth a test drive for anyone who is in the market for a new racquet.

Thank you TW and Babolat for the opportunity to play test the new 2023 Babolat Pure Aero
 
String and tension used for test: I used a string that I am very familiar with, Tierone Black Night 1.28 gauge. This is a very well balanced string that exudes confidence given its predictable nature. I thought it would be a good match since it does have decent comfort for a poly. I strung it up @52lbs.
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Tennis experience/background: Played overseas since I was a little kid then went to college and played soccer instead of tennis. Stopped playing tennis from 18 to maybe early 30s then started playing again. I felt pretty stupid missing out on those years not playing.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I play more of an all court style. I definitely am not one to hug the baseline. I am pretty comfortable deploying serve/volley and looking for opportunities for approach shots and moving in behind it or mixing in drop shots. I have 1hbh and I can generate top spin, drive or slice.

Current racquet/string setups: Oh boy, I have a few :X3: however the ones I favor and consider my leading frames to go into matches would be ZUS Custom 100 strung with black night or tour sniper, Blade Pro with tour sniper, black night or tour hex and a newish frame is the Artengo TR 960 Control Tour with tour bite. I have more but these are the standouts in my bag.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? I probably got in around 9 hours. I used it in practice at my tennis club, mixed doubles and doubles. Also hit singles with a friend, drills and point play.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

-Groundstrokes: I am not sure what could be said here that is not a classic PA remark. Yes, there is easy power and spin, there I said it. It does simplify the game of you choose to play to its strength. Brush the ball more and stay on the spin, the ball does come down diving. Out of all the racquets I have, this one has the most naturally high launch angle and more loopy spin. It does this quite well and with decent control. How decent comes down to how well you can consistently brush the ball. There are occasions were you can drive more but that ball better have an angle from a bit higher trajectory. Slices floated on me a bit but I adjusted and eventually got it to knife like i wanted it to. I do not love this frame on my 1hbh, i found the frame clumsy on that side. It just didn't feel natural like my favorite racquets which are all thin beams. It wasn't bad, just not ideal.

-Serves: So again the typical comment of easy power and spin. It typifies this frame because it is simply true and easy to detect. Big flat booming serves with a relaxed swing come natural. There are certainly some MPH gains just not sure how much. The peeps on the other side commented on it as the ball audibly swoosh in the air. You have to tone that down a bit with spin so your serve percentage doesn't suffer while you're getting giddy trying to slap in aces. I naturally go after my 2nd serves except I am kicking or more heavily slicing depending on what variety I am throwing in. In both these situations the frame does very nicely with pronounced kick and/or slice. This frame strung with only an OG measured 326.7g/32.7cm/328SW (I have a Briffidi SW machine). It must have been on a diet of pomme frites as its SW was porkier then TW's average SW. This translated nicely on those kickers.

-Volleys: Pretty stable, large sweet spot, maneuverable all translate to a good volleying stick. Just block back balls and let the racquet do the work because it will do it with some heat. You can be a bit lazy on volleys and all you have to do is simply have the frame in the right position and let it do its thing. What I wish i had more is feel and nuance in touch. I just stayed away from anything to crafty and let the racquet win the collision with the ball.

-Serve returns: Oh boy, that was one I had to be careful with and not overhit. The big sweet spot helps and my returns took more of a blocking back technique to not get silly giddy and try to go for too big of a return. Blocking with this frames works at least with bigger servers as it provides depth and better percentages. I did not feel confident getting too aggressive and returning big. The larger beam, higher launch and for me less that ideal feel didn't inspire me to go big on returns and in all honesty, I didn't have to. Blocking or slicing back provided good depth and didn't put me on my back foot starting a point.

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control- Easy power, you can play this racquet 75-80% all day long and get depth and good power. This certainly isn't a control stick. We all unequivocally understand what it is designed to do. A lighter weight package to help with power and spin. For me, it was more about getting a feel of how to control that power and play to the frames strength.

Top Spin/Slice- Top spin is easy, after all this is a frame that touts its spin abilities. Yes, the string pattern does seem a bit tighter than the previous generation which I tried sparingly. Strings still move quite well and there is pretty good easy heavy spin. If you are a baseliner with a more western grip, welcome to heaven. I had to go semi-western pretty much all the time on my forehand. I normally play eastern and cheat to semi when i have a ball i really wanna get some rotation on. My hitting buddy who is a good 4.5 commented about the ease of power and spin when he tried it. He just didn't like how lite it was compared to his playing stick.

Comfort- I had no issue with comfort at least with black night. Is it a comfort racquet? Certainly not, you will not mistake this frame for a PK or prince phantom line. It does seem though that they are finding the right formula for stiffness that's a bit on the higher side without being brittle and can provide a nice level of playing comfort. My arm felt good every time I played it and no niggling aches after.

Feel- This was less than ideal for me but I am spoiled in that regard. I have two frames that can cure any feel fetish, the ZUS and the BP. So it is truly unfair especially for a thicker beam tweener to have to make an impression in feel. For what it does, feel is ok, didn't inspire me but I didn't find it bad. In context, of what this frame is, the feel is decent, somewhat muted but not heavily so. Ball pocketing is nothing pronounced, this is compress the ball and boom.

Maneuverability- Very maneuverable given its weight. This is not a racquet that will tire you out in the 3rd set. Having said that, there is something about thicker beams that lacks elegance in the air. It is hard to explain even as I think of what I am really trying to say. Maneuverable yes, just somehow its fight in the air isn't scalpel like as a thin beam. I think this is just personal preference. Bab fans will just shake their head and think what the heck is talking about? Fine, I concede its just my weirdness with thinner beams.

Stability- Yeah, stable no issue. I never felt like the frame was twisting or getting pushed back. I deployed the block on returns given this is a factor. Similarly on volleys even big balls did not push this frame around. That thicker beam does have some advantage after all. There I said it Bab fans so stop shaking your heads reading this with my thin beam impulses.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

I think it would be fair to say that of all the racquets I have this one embodies the tweener style to its full effect. Can be a great stick for someone that can't produce their own power or doesn't want to in favor of conserving themselves while getting deep balls. I do favor this PJ over the prior banana that was simply not my aesthetic at all. This one a bit busy but overall I do like it and the gloss helps.

I will keep this racquet and continue to test out different string setups and maybe add a bit of weight. It's performance is geared a bit different than to my natural game but I will test out more and see how I can best use it. Thank you TW and Babolat for the play test. These types of play tests get tennis geeks like us excited. It was certainly fun to participate and hope my review is helpful to others.
 
Did anyone track how old their poly strings were that experienced arm-pain?

That's my assertion for the arm-pain...dead poly. I think this racquet magnifies the effects of worn out poly and makes it worse. I just used my big banger that was 4-5 hours old and clearly very loose and it was not great and did not feel great.
Some racquets are more forgiving in terms of dead poly, I do not think this one is.

Review coming soon.. stay tuned.
 
Trip said:
I find it kind of unreal that through all the testing, all the design iterations, etc. that Babolat wouldn't have picked up on this and addressed it before the racquet made it to production... mind-boggling, really.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see the exact same issue on the 2023 Pure Aero 98 (formerly Pure Aero VS), as I would presume it shares the exact same head guard design.... brutal.
Click to expand...
I was going to grab one of the 98s when they come out. But definitely not now. Not until I know that the bumper guard is no longer an issue. Terrible engineering Babolat. How could they let this happen? o_O
 
TennisManiac said:
I was going to grab one of the 98s when they come out. But definitely not now. Not until I know that the bumper guard is no longer an issue. Terrible engineering Babolat. How could they let this happen? o_O
Click to expand...
This can be fixed post-release...so hopefully they see this and release a better guard for future grommet sets. I tagged BabolatOfficial on their thread, but haven't heard a reply yet.
 
Babolat Pure Aero 2023 - Playtest Review (Part 1 of 2)

String and tension used for test: Tier One Sports Black Knight 16 (1.28) @ 56/54 lbs on a Tourna CS-300 lockout crank (50 lbs string bed tension off the stringer, per Tennis Tension app)
Tennis experience/background: 40-yo male, 4.0 self-rated, learned at 7, juniors until 14, casual play 15-39, 39-present play 2-4 times per week including club leagues
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All-court, eastern/semi-western forehand, flat-ish one-handed backhand, big serve (100+ mph)
Current racquet/string setups:
- Racquets: mostly player frames and player/tweener hybrids - Head G360+ Prestige Tour (99" 18x19), Auxetic Prestige MP-L (99" 16x19), 2019 Prince Textreme Tour 100 and 100P, Yonex VCore Pro 97D
- Strings: newer co-polys in the mid 50's (Grapplesnake, Tier One and MSV); also play synthetics in the upper 50's / low 60's in hybrids every now and then, as well as Ashaway Kevlar and MonoGut ZX at 70/60
How many hours did you play with the racquet? 12 Hours - exclusively used this racquet for the entire month of September, 2022.

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

Groundstrokes: 9/10 - Overall, excellent. For starters, a definitely acclimation period - three sessions, 3-4 hours total. I'm used to swinging heavier, less polarized, more head-light frames that require more push through the stroke, and swing more linearly (front-to-back). The PA23 is a bit more naturally polarized and head-heavy, which requires more pull through the stroke, plus a more looping swing path, and a combination of the aero beam, high twist weight and lively string bed definitely require a more upward swipe through the ball (ie. windshield-wiper motion). After adjusting, however, I found even higher levels of consistency than usually, especially at 70-80% of max effort. Launch angle was one of the highest I've ever experienced for such a medium-density pattern, initially a challenge to control, but after consciously committing to a semi-western forehand and a more rounded, Gasquet-style backhand, I was able to very consistently produce a looping, controlled, medium-to-high pace rally ball with a high degree vertical plunge and topspin. Slices, especially from my backhand, were fairly easy to execute and were usually nice and deep, albeit sometimes floated a bit higher than anticipated. Overall, though, I can why the PA is so popular, on groundstrokes performance alone -- the easy power, the easy spin, and just plain easy results just make the ground game, well, easier, all the way around. This is especially apparent when thinking about the sheer amount of effort I'd need to exert with my Prestiges, VCore Pro's, etc. to achieve similar power, spin, and do so time and after time (I get tired just thinking about it!). The PA23 is truly a gem for clay court grinding, and even a good fit for many hard court styles.

Serves: 8/10 - Serves were not quite outstanding, but still very solid. One of my biggest weapons are flat bombs to the body or down the T. Snapping the racquet over the top of the motion wasn't quite as quick or effortless as with my more head-light control sticks -- probably due to the head-heavier balance and hoop-based weight distribution -- but the PA23 countered that with its thicker beam and higher stiffness, imparting greater energy into the ball on contact, even if the slapping speed was slightly slower. So all-in-all, the resulting flat serves were still just as powerful, albeit with slightly less directional control. Where the frame really shined was with kick serves: I was able to impart huge kickers that really leapt off the court. I attribute such aggressive kick serves to the same qualities that allow such curving, spin-laden groundstrokes. Slice serves were also good, albeit not as extreme in their curvature, spin or bounce action as kickers. The only area where I had a somewhat consistent challenge were second serves, where I found myself double-faulting more than usual. I think this was due to lack of ability to fully adapt to the more head-heavy balance and higher-than-average twist weight. I'm pretty sure that with another 10-20 hours of play, I could boost second serve reliability back to what I'm used to.

Volleys: 7/10 - Although serviceable, volleys were the weakest area. Starting with strengths, the high twist weight, beam stiffness and consistency of the string bed allowed for easier-than-usual redirection of pace and spin. The weaknesses centered around how sluggish the frame felt when having to make last-second adjustments and/or applying fine-tuned touch. I attribute this to a combo of the more head-heavy weight distribution, the thicker beam and stiffer flex. Granted, playing a full bed of poly didn't help the cause, but I've experienced much nicer amount of adjustability and touch from my narrower-beamed player sticks, even with full beds of poly. That said, I did eventually find a way to execute good volleys with the PA23, centered primarily around 1) early preparation and 2) simple, direct motion -- as long as I was extra prepared and limited my take-backs and follow-throughs to the bare-minimum, I was able to drive deep put-aways, fairly consistently. This was the area, though, that required the biggest retooling of my game in order to at least execute decently, to say nothing of being any level of dangerous at the net.

Serve returns: 9/10 - Quite possibly the best stroke with the PA23. The combo of high twist weight and stiffness with the more controlled string bed makes for a returner's dream. I found myself constantly able to return fast serves out wide with way more depth and authority than any of my current frames, and do so even when on the stretch with one hand. Very impressive. I also found that if given enough time to get even a partial swing into the ball, I could absolutely tee off on most second serves, and even a good portion of first serves, from most any of my 3.5-4.5 level opponents. I also found that I produced some of my most effective backhand slices off of serve returns with the PA23. I also found that control on returns was higher-than-average, provided I could get enough windshield-wiper motion applied to the ground stroke (or enough downward cut on the slice). I almost never landed a return long, wide or into the net, and all of them had at least adequate-enough pace so as to not give away the point right away. Very impressive overall.
 
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Babolat Pure Aero 2023 - Playtest Review (Part 2 of 2)

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power: 8/10 - I would put power slightly above something like a higher-powered player/tweener hybrid, such as a 2019 Prince Textreme Tour 100 310 (16x18) -- so in the low to middle range of most tweeners -- not quite where the 2019 Pure Aero was, nor the current Pure Drive or Tecnifibre X1. That said, I think the PA23 separates itself somewhat by how controllable its power is. I know that's an over-used cliché, but I found a higher-than-average ability to apply good power while still being able to craft the shape and direction of shot I was looking for on almost every impact. The power level generated almost effortless depth into the back quarter of the court, made flat first serves just about as fast as I've ever hit them, and volleys and overheads were never lacking, either. So, for as much of a reduction in power as this Pure Aero has compared to the 2019, it's by no means underpowered.

Control: 8/10 - Especially with a controlled poly of proper thickness (in my case, T1 Black Knight 1.28), I found the PA23 to be more controlled than I had anticipated. The return to the more dense Aero Pro Drive style string pattern definitely gave the string bed a tameness and precision, something I can almost liken to my Prestiges and VCore Pro's, but with the added boost of a stiffer layup, more aero beam design and more lively grommets. I found I could command the ball in almost as precise a way as I do with my control frames, while at the same time imparting greater action and spin -- a combination I've never quite felt before, and it was, like before, eye-opening for me.

Top Spin/Slice: 9/10 - Spin if of course a hallmark of the Aero lineage, and I found no shortage of it here. Even with the more dense string pattern, very much akin to several of my control frames (even a couple more open 18x20's), I was able to create more topspin and slice spin, on average, than most of my other frames. Whether I was driving a deep cross-court forehand or knifing a defensive slice, it always appeared as though I was imparting just about the maximum amount of spin possible. I couldn't have asked for much more. Perhaps the biggest highlight was the amount of jump I was able to create on my kick serves, something that hasn't traditionally been a feature shot of mine, but with the PA23 I found it was not only satisfactory, but even dangerous.

Comfort: 6/10 - This is probably the largest point of concern that I would have with the PA23. For as much as Babolat supposedly softened the frame, I have others that list at around 65RA, and the PA23 definitely plays at least that stiff, if not a point or two more. This is in stark contrast to several control frames I have, such as the G360+ Prestige Tour and also Auxetic Prestige MP-L, both of which list at the same 65RA, but play noticeably less stiff than the PA23. Such is the case with RA listings -- they only tell you so much. You really have to play extensively with the racquet to know the full story. My primary point on the comfort (or lack thereof) on the PA23 is that the true take-away isn't really felt during the session, nor right after, but more like several hours to a day later, where I can really tell the level of tissue wear. Most times, it hasn't been that bad, but over the course of the month I've slowly been feeling it build up in intensity, so at the very least, more time is going to be needed to see if it's just tissue adaptation or an actual damage/healing cycle. As of now, the jury is out, but I'm marking this score with a 6-out-of-10, just to indicate it's at least worth being cautious with this frame if you've been dealing with any arm issues whatsoever.

Feel: 7/10 - I would say feel was between average and good. Not having played any previous Pure Aeros or Aero Pro Drives, I don't know how to compare there, but in comparison to most thinner-beam, more flexible frames with less dampening tech, the feel was a bit muted and club-like, but not excessively so, and certainly worth the small compromises made to gain such power return and spin applied to the ball. Especially if you pair the racquet with the right string combination and focus on keeping racquet head speed high enough to feel the ball impact deeper in the string bed, most of the sacrifices in feel can be mitigated.

Maneuverability: 8/10 - I found the PA23 to be decently, if not a bit unconventionally, maneuverable. The slightly more head-heavy balance, thick beam, chunky throat (when swung more front-to-back), and hoop-centric weight distribution made the whole package a bit sluggish, but the light static weight, aero throat outers and sharpened beam edges made accelerating the racquet much easier on longer swings and kept racquet head speed effortlessly high -- provided you could get the frame moving early enough with enough initial input power. The one are where I felt maneuverability was most challenging was with more instantaneous "flick" movements, such as those required on volleys, but even so, I found a way to compensate by just preparing my volley stance and takebacks as early as possible, and keeping racquet motion simple and blunt.

Stability: 9/10 - Especially for its weight, I found the PA23 to be supremely stable, almost to a fault. With a stock strung twist weight of 15.4, it takes a lot of incoming pace and weight, hit off-center, to make the racquet flutter, which is sublime on returns and volleys. It did pose a but of a challenge when trying to flick the racquet face during certain ground strokes or kick serves, but on the flip side, twisting the face isn't quite as necessary to make those shots work, as the sheer lateral stability is enough to usually make the ball do what is needed without the extra twisting applied. Overall, the stability level works to the player's advantage way more often than not. Excellent engineering by Babolat here.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

Overall, I was quite impressed with the Pure Aero 2023, to the point where I would actually consider a switch, save for yet-to-be-confirmed curiosity over how my arm may hold up when trying to play the frame 3-4 times per week with a medium-soft full bed of poly at ~50 pounds.

One note was how I spec'd the racquet for ultimate playability (you can back-reference my various setups from previous posts in this thread). I tried several difference weight and balance setups, and in the end found that just a single over-grip plus 1.5g of .5g/inch 1/4"-wide lead tape at 12 o'clock -- yielding a strung balance of 6.5 pts head-light and swing weight of 328 -- to be the best setup for me. The racquet definitely benefits from adding some weight in key areas, but is also sensitive to the amount of weight, as it's very highly tuned in stock form as it is, so a little weight goes a long way on this frame! I would add weight in no more than .5g or 1g increments -- seriously.

One last thing to note is the poor headguard design, which leaves several string loops at the ends of the guard (at around 10:30 and 1:30) exposed to abrasion (see my posts and pictures from earlier in the thread). For me personally, it's not necessarily a deal-breaker, but definitely disappointing and something I hope Babolat decides to address via a "version 2" headguard at some point in the model's life span.

Lastly, I would like to thank @TW Staff, @Babolat Official and the forum moderators for the tremendous opportunity to be included in this and other play tests. Your efforts to bring this type of product exposure to the average person are truly special, and I would have to believe it's a true win-win for all involved. And thank you, to the Talk Tennis forum members for creating such a great dialogue on this and other products. The information here is truly staggering and what I would consider the de-facto source for tennis gear info! Keep it up, everyone!
 
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The Chairman3's review of the 2023 Babolat Pure Aero


String and tension: Synthetic Gut at 52lbs (5 hours); Big Banger Original at 48lbs for the remainder

Tennis background: Playing for about 4 years, no prior experience, average NTRP 4.0; looking for the right racquet to help me move to the next level :D; my strokes are more "traditional" my balls are slightly flatter closer to a Federer than a Nadal, just as a point of reference. But I really use almost every type of shot when I play.

Play style: Attacking/all-court player, like to approach and finish points at the net in singles and also play a lot of doubles. As stated above, I want a racquet that can do everything, I like to be able to use every shot when I play.

Current racquet: Ultra Tour weighted to about 320g unstrung using various polys and lately syngut mains and poly cross as an experiment.

Time used: As soon as I received my racquet I began using it as my main racquet for all tennis I played with no switching. This amounted to about 13-15 hours over a two week period playing singles and doubles. My playtest time was cut shorter than I wanted due to the birth of my first child!!:notworthy::notworthy: Also a hurricane consumed another week of playtest time.

Groundstrokes: This is a baseliner/big target players dream. Forehands are easy, going nice and deep with ample topspin. You won't blow anyone off the court with power, but you can definitely give them trouble and push them back. That's not to say it doesn't have power, but nothing like what I was expecting. The racquet is not whippy, but does go through the air pretty easy for the headsize and beam thickness. For backhands, it was very solid and pretty consistent. I think the balance helps get the racquet head lower and make it easier to produce a topspin backhand. For both forehands and backhands I did find the ability to drive balls deep and flat, but you have to take it earlier and be ready or the ball will fly. Launch angle was controlled and I would not necessarily say high. For both sides, but especially forehand, I think you really need modern/vertical/topspin mechanics to fully utilize this racquet. The other thing I felt lacking, mostly on down the line shots, was that pinpoint control. I will touch on this later.

Serves: I primarily rely on my kick serve for both first and second serves. This racquet did not fail me, I found very good kick and a surprising amount of control. I got more control from the racquet on serves than I did on groundstrokes, which is nice when really trying to go for a corner. Flat serves were average, again, the power is here but maybe not as much as some other racquets. But targeting definitely worked with this racquet and it was easy to serve.

Volleys: This really surprised me the most, I really liked volleying with this racquet. To me, baseline and spin frames I just assume will be terrible and sluggish when volleying, this was not at all. It has good enough touch that I could place volleys, and just enough maneuverability to get in position quickly. It also has pretty natural stability which helps if you're just a tad late and hit it off center. Half-volleys were also good, the racquet can be flicked with your wrist in this situation.

Serve returns: As with volleys, this racquet really does not lack stability in stock form. I felt most of my returns were the deeper topspin variety where as I normally would like something a little harder and flatter at my opponents feet. But regardless of the serve, this racquet was easy to return with. Very good to hit short, crosscourt angles in doubles as it can swing quick with a short take back, but singles it was really good when you didn't need a specific target in mind and just wanted to let her rip. The only downside might be heavy kick serves. I like to take these on the rise and hit through the ball, it was harder for me to make clean contact when attempting this. I attribute it to the thicker beam.
 
And then there's more...


Power/control: Maybe unfortunately, this racquet falls right in the middle, which is both good and bad. I felt myself wanting slightly more precision but maybe also some free power. Recent racquets I consider "powerful" would be the latest Speed Pro and the Tfight RS 305. Neither of these are comparable but I did feel like the ball shot off the string bed (in a good way) with this. I was expecting this from the Pure Aero but did not get it. Maybe I could string lower or with a more powerful poly, but then we get into the issue of control. I come from control racquets so, to me, this racquet is not a precision tool. I didn't have any misconceptions that it would be, but through and through the name of the game is spin. My down the line percentage was lower and it felt like I had to play slightly different than I would with my normal racquets. More neutral exchanges instead of attacking at the first short ball. The exception was volleys and serves, I felt I had good control there. Someone who found the prior Pure Aero too powerful, would probably love this. Anyone looking for explosive power like a Pure Drive, this probably isn't your frame.

Topspin/slice: Topspin is what this racquet is made for and of. Topspin was not a problem. But I do want to reiterate a previous point...to really make the most out of this racquet, you have to play with the right technique. Old-school flat hitters thinking this will bring more spin to their game will be disappointed. A flatter swingpath will result in balls into the net or launched to the fence. I adjusted my swing to be a little more vertical and met good results. Is this sustainable long-term, eh maybe not. It is just not how I learned or how I play. Slices weren't bad. This is an open pattern and for me this always produces a more floaty slice. If you really step into the shot you can get the low skidding slice, but on average mine float a bit. Chip shots were good, particularly on defense, the racquet has enough power and spin to get it over the net and keep it in the court.

Comfort: I did not find this racquet to be uncomfortable. I never had arm pain. The RA is lower, but I think that helps more with feel than with comfort. My opinion is this racquet is just not forgiving once your poly goes dead. Some racquets are more than others. I used my big banger original for 4-5 hours and when I went out earlier today it was very loose and felt terrible. So I see how some could experience arm pain given the pervasiveness of poly strings and possible unwillingness to cut it out so soon (this last part is me). Meanwhile with loose synthetic gut, I had no problems. Comfort could obviously be improved with various string setups as well. Given the moderate power level a poly/multi or poly/syngut hybrid would probably be great. Comfort is very subjective, I would say try it and if you start feeling anything, STOP.

Feel: I enjoyed the feel of this racquet, mostly. I think it had a good response where it wasn't stiff nor flexible. It had some give and I'd characterize it on the softer side of firm almost a plush-firm. The sweetspot feels good and you definitely feel when you connect with it. The caveat is outside the sweetspot it felt muted. I think this too is how people develop arm pain. Without proper feedback people may not realize they aren't consistently hitting the middle and suddenly your arm hurts even though it felt like your contact was ok. But otherwise, this was not the stiff Babolat that we've come to know.

Maneuverability: I didn't touch on this a lot as it wasn't a standout. All that to say, the racquet is plenty maneuverable at net and for touch shots. It also works well with a short takeback on returns. But, in general, I think the headsize and thicker beam make it slightly less maneuverable, it is a tad in the middle. With a fuller, loopier, flat swing, it can be a tad sluggish, but at the same time the lower swingweight and static weight keep it moving well. I was also surprised that I liked the balance as much as I did. I'm typically a 32cm or less guy. A leather grip would likely do wonders for this racquet.

Stability: I found the racquet plenty stable. I think against really big hitters you could wear yourself out as I don't think defense is this racquets strength. You'd likely be working overtime to defend. It just doesn't have enough free power to push hard hit balls back without leaving them short. But for returns and volleys, the stability is definitely all you could ask for and need in stock form especially for the static weight. I didn't have any frame twisting or anything like that on any shots.

Final thoughts:
I was very excited for this playtest. This is the complete opposite of any racquet I would ever choose and I think that lends an interesting perspective. I honestly really enjoyed this racquet a lot more than I thought I would. I am having a good time hitting with it, and since I lost a week or two before my review was due, I am going to play another week or two and write a follow up. It is currently being strung with Poly Tour Fire, so we'll see what that can do. I also have a tournament the following weekend. Do I see myself switching to this, it doesn't seem likely. I just think for my mechanics, there is probably a better match, but this racquet was really easy to use and really impressed me. It showed me something different and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is making me reconsider what specs I should be using too. Many parts of this racquet to me were neutral, they didn't stand out but they were right in the middle and provided you enough of either one to make it easy for you. This racquet may lose some fans who favored the prior one, but it will likely gain some from other tweener frames. I think the changes this one had, improved feel and less power, make it more versatile and usable to a broader group.


Thank you Babolat and @TW Staff for the opportunity, it was a great playtest. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the new Pure Aero.
 
After reading all of these reviews from @Chairman3. @Trip , @topspn, @atatu, @Chezbeeno, @XFactorer @TennisHound , I have to say, "Good job !" to everyone too. It seems everyone actually put a lot thought into their reviews. More than once I thought, Yeah that's right, It did feel a bit like that. You also opened my eyes up to a few things too. Thanks. If any of you are in SoCal let's hit sometime!

The PA 23 was a great racquet to playtest and I can say it definitely adds something to my game. Not all racquets do. Aside from its shiny new graphics, It is such a dynamic racquet with spin, power and stability that it has me rethinking what I want from a racquet and how I'd like to play.
 
Nojoke said:
Can any of the play testers compare the new aero to the aero VS?

thanks.
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I'll give you my short-take, but I really only spent 2-3 hours with the Aero VS and it was probably a year ago.

PA23 more stable, powerful and spin friendly
Aero VS more control and probably more versatility on flat vs topspin groundstrokes.
Feel is pretty equal, maybe a slight edge to the VS in terms of feedback. The PA23 is fairly muted outside the sweetspot.
The VS felt a little anemic, like it would play more solid with a little weight.
VS was also whippier/easy to swing so better maneuverability.
For control and a better candidate for light customizing, VS all the way.
For the better stock racquet, PA23

Really depends on your style of play and what you want
 
StringStrungStrang said:
After reading all of these reviews from @Chairman3. @Trip , @topspn, @atatu, @Chezbeeno, @XFactorer @TennisHound , I have to say, "Good job !" to everyone too. It seems everyone actually put a lot thought into their reviews. More than once I thought, Yeah that's right, It did feel a bit like that. You also opened my eyes up to a few things too. Thanks. If any of you are in SoCal let's hit sometime!

The PA 23 was a great racquet to playtest and I can say it definitely adds something to my game. Not all racquets do. Aside from its shiny new graphics, It is such a dynamic racquet with spin, power and stability that it has me rethinking what I want from a racquet and how I'd like to play.
Click to expand...

Agree, although I've only paid attention to the PSVS and the PA2023 playtests this year, the quality of the reviews have been top notch.
 
Anton's review:

PA 2023 setup: RS Lyon 16g @ ~53lb, 332g(+2g at 12) 4.5hl

Tennis experience/background: 15 years, D3 second position, local tournaments and 4.5 USTA league play.

Playing style: Baseliner/first strike tennis. Can go more western for loopy spin or play more driving game, depending on type of frame and opponent.

Current racquet/string setups: Yonex VCORE 95 12.2oz, RS Lyon 17 @ 48lbs.

Having played with PA 23 for about 40 hours here are my conclusions:

Groundstrokes: Immediate impression playing this racket is - oh wow this is very easy to play with. You get effortless lift on the ball with a lot of spin, but at the same time very even stringbed response and tighter depth control that reminded me of APD Orginal. Comparatively PA2019 felt lighter, crisper, slightly more powerful, less stable and less controlled.

If you like to get under the ball with western-ish grip, create a lot of loop and angles then this is the best-of-breed racket as far as I'm concerned. Nadal fan boys no longer need to hoard APDo - PA23 has it all - [10/10].

On the other hand it's still a PA and if you like to drive the ball flat this racket will be tough to controll depth with. I'm not saying it can't be done, but after sailing enough balls I fully gave up trying to hit anything except spin spin and more spin with this racket on full strokes. [6/10]

Serves: APD/PAs have always been great to serve with for me - you get a lot of nasty pop and spin to bend the ball in and PA 23 added a little more control. [9/10]

Volleys: Suprisingly solid. I liked voleying with APD orginals...and hated how bouncy and out of control later iterations have felt. PA 23 has a bit more pop than APDo but in a controlled way, so you feel like you have options of what to do with the ball - punch it deep or place it low and short. [8/10]

Serve returns: going big on returns with this frame felt great, just a big ol' *POP* with tons of action redirected back to server. I did have to take a step back and add a bit of vertical path to give myself more margin after sailing some agressive returns, but I was getting great results after making those adjustments. [8.5/10]


Power/Control - great mix of both, again, so long as you are adding at least some spin on your shots.
Top Spin/Slice- Tons of action everywhere, but much easier to defend / slice with because the ball doesn't pop up off the stringbed the way it had a tendency with older iterations. Drop shots felt great too, you can really put the mustard on the ball and jsut have it die. [8.5/10]
Comfort - at 66RA this is not exactly a plush frame but due to some extra twistweight and stabily it wasn't harsh either. I don't have any arm pain issues, so for me this racket is comfortable enough to play with and not think twice about this. [7.5/10]
Feel - PA 23 is probably the most muted feeling PA/APD to date, I personally like that, because to me it just feels solid, but I could see how others may want a more crisp/communicative feel of prior gens. I don't really pay much attention where my ball lands on the string bed, but I do think it was tougher to tell compared to older versions. [8/10]
Maneuverability- here PA 23 trades some manueverability compared to post-APDo generations for slightly softer, more stable response. For someone like me thats great, I only needed to add a bit of weight on the tip to get it perfect, while on PA 19 I had to also add some weight to the midsection. [9/10]
Stability -Most solid PA/APD to date, enough said. [8.5/10]

Babolat did a great job on this update and I consider PA 23 to be the best yet. I can easily recommend it to someone looking to play that max-spin game.
 
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